Emirates Group inks carbon agreement

Emirates Group is one of the first major companies to align itself with the new push by Dubai Carbon Centre for Excellence (DCCE) in the hunt for ways to reduce carbon emissions, the company said on Tuesday. In a statement, Emirates Group said it has already “a fuel efficiency 22.5 per cent better than the International Air Transport Association (IATA) global fleet average and CO2 emissions 18.1 per cent better than the IATA average (per passenger kilometre).” But the company wants to achieve greater results on carbon emissions. Company officials confirmed they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the DCCE to develop “low-carbon activities for the Group’s ground operations in Dubai.” The MoU signing was attended by Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, vice chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, and Waleed Salman, Chairman of the DCCE. “The MoU will serve as a framework agreement towards developing low-carbon activities. The Dubai Carbon Centreof Excellence will provide its expertise on carbon to support Emirates. A number of projects are being explored as part of the MoU; including energy-efficient lighting for Emirates Group accommodation buildings, solar hot-water systems and waste-to-energy technologies,” said Al Tayer. Clark said: “The Emirates Group is committed to pursuing resource efficiencies in all its activities and this agreement will allow us to examine, in greater depth, potential Dubai-based emission reduction projects at our commercial and residential sites, across various facets of our operations,’’ said DCCE chairman Salman said that “Emirates Group plays an active role in our emirate’s economy and is already an international role model for environmentally-efficient operations with 25% less than the international standard. It is a truly visionary step for its management to undertake such efforts to further improve their environmental performance and shows a true commitment to Dubai’s sustainable growth.”